Gaston(r) Goes to Mardi Gras

I bought this book for a recent preschool Mardi Gras party. I found the book informative & easy to understand. Even the youngest of my listeners (Age 3)were able to enjoy the story, as I supplemented it with visuals (beads, doubloons, masks). My only complaint would be the illustrations. I found the pictures to be more like an artist's view of the Mardi Gras scene, rather than easy to decipher, kid friendly pictures.

This book was quite fun as Gaston appears on every "spread". Finding Gaston was a great addition to the BASIC story. if you know nothing about Mardi Gras- this is NOT the book for you. The pictures are fun to view but do not present crisp clear images easily recognizable. Nor does the narrative do much to further explain this wonderfuly historic tradition. Nonetheless, I used this as an aid to explaining Mardi gras to a group of 1st graders. It was a hit. As a supplement used in conjunction with other items it was great!

Exact copy of the book. Unfortunately, the pages are a little more complicated to color that I had hoped. Perhaps for 8-9 year olds, not 5-6 yr olds as I was hoping.

I used this book as my read aloud in a lesson plan on Mardi Gras. It is a great book. The illustrations are in purple, green, and gold and are just beautiful! Also, Gaston the alligator keeps the students' interest during the reading. Gaston is found on almost every page. In addition, there are many Mardi Gras traditions used in text. Examples are gumbo, fais-do-do, beads,parades, Boeuf Gras and King Cake. It was a great book to use for an anticipatory set of my lesson plan. I was able to transition into my teaching activities very smoothly after this interactive read aloud. I plan on using this book in the years to come. I enjoyed reading it and the children enjoyed listening and learning from it!

This colouring book version of James Rice's Mardi Gras classic, "Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras," is fun for the whole family. It can be used as a way to explain some of your family's traditions, or to prepare children for a family trip. The pictures can be coloured, cut out and used for party decorations. The story reminds me of my childhood, and the Carnivals of days gone by. Rice presents a short, but comprehensive overview of Carnival, and the major krewes, balls, and parades. I highly recomend this book.